Never Bet With A Telepath
by Aleigh Walker
Summary: Logan looses a bet and finds himself helping out with the yearly haunted house.


Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men, I simply like to play with them 

Archive: Simply tell me where please.

Author's Notes: This is from the Wolverine Rogue Challenge Generator. The words; Lost bet and Chainsaw. Just a short drabble loosely based on actual events. (My father actually did what Logan does for his room in the haunted house.) Please forgive Logan for being slightly out of character. The story takes place several years into the future, and he has had a chance to make peace with himself, thus making him a bit more playful than he may otherwise be.

**Never Bet With A ****Telepath**

It was two days before Halloween and the whole of the mansion was in a state of barely organized chaos. The reason? The annual dinner party/haunted 'house' on the second floor. Every year Xavier and his senior staff would transform the ballroom into a veritable maze of haunted rooms.

The first part of October the teachers and adult staff volunteered to perform one of the many necessary tasks needed to successfully produce the whole show. And it was a show. Before the 'haunted house' opened, the Professor would host a dinner party for any mutant who would like to attend. There he would give a small speech usually about the possibility of peaceful co-habitant with humans and the night would begin. It was almost as anticipated as Christmas at the mansion.

It truly was a wonderful tradition. The adults could gather and discuss politics while down the hall traditional bobbing for apples, and other games, were set up for the younger generation. And for the teens and young adults, the haunted house. It was the crowing glory of the night.

Rogue bit back a smile as she studied her students. It was Friday and they were in a state of high excitement. Halloween was this next Sunday so she tuned a blind eye to the notes being passed as she wrapped up her last lecture for the day. For the next few days she knew that several would be spotted trying to get a sneak peek into the ballroom before opening night. The entire student body was constantly on the alert for news about the forbidden room. She smiled good-naturedly. At least they felt safe enough to be curious.

So many of the kids they picked up were abused, hardened, and wary of the world. Much like she had been. She hated to think what would have become of her if she hadn't hitched a ride with a certain ex-cage fighter. Speaking of whom, she glanced to her door. Sure enough, there he was leaning on the doorframe. She tuned to her class and proceeded to release them for the day.

"Ok, that's it for the day," her words were almost drowned out by the scraping of chairs as the whole class stood up. "I want you to have read pages 123-137 by our next class. If you don't we will have a pop quiz," She warned as only a few of them actually stopped to write down the assigned pages.

She turned to wipe down her marker-board as the class filed out the door. When she tuned back around she found Logan leaned up against her own desk about two feet away. She scowled at him.

"Can't you make some noise? You know, shuffle your feet, cough, sneeze, sing, wear a bell?" she grumbled amiably.

He arched one eyebrow at her. "A bell? And who do you think could tag me with one?" He grinned at her, his head tilted back in challenge.

"I could take you. Remember?" she waved her gloved hand in front of his face.

"Yeah," he acknowledged, as he slowly looked her up and down suggestively. "But where?"

Rogue felt her breath catch and her stomach started to flutter with tension. Surely he didn't mean what she thought he meant. They had been best friends for years. Her breath caught in her throat.

She had opened her mouth to say something, anything, when she saw his lips quirk up at the corner, obviously trying not to smile. She narrowed her eyes. He was playing with her. She gave him a smack on the head that he made no attempt to dodge.

"You would flirt with a telephone pole if it had a skirt on." She grumbled as he started to laugh at her

"Now darlin' you know that's not true. I like the curves. They're the best part of a woman," she felt his eyes course over her own admittedly curvaceous figure. "Besides, women like it when I flirt with them." Rogue rolled her eyes at his confidant words.

"Cocky bastard aren't you?" she muttered as she bent down to gather up her book bag.

She turned back to look at him and caught him wiggling his eyebrows at her. Too late, she realized the double meaning. He laughed when she gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Come on; let me escort you down the dangerous halls where random students are known to pounce on teachers for news about that damned haunted room." He growled his irritation about all the fuss coming up that next Sunday.

Rogue eyed him warily. "What if I want a different escort? You seem to be a bit too rebellious for the job."

"Then I'll toss you over a shoulder and take you anyway," he growled, eyes flickering to gold at the thought of someone else taking her to the teachers meeting they were almost late to.

"You wouldn't." she narrowed her eyes at him in case he should think it was necessary.

"Oh no?" before she could react Rogue found herself thrown over his right shoulder as he headed out the door.

"Logan!" her shriek echoed down the hall as she found herself dangled upside down. "Put me down!" she ordered.

"Sorry baby can't. The natives are restless," he replied as he jostled her, her bag and her classroom keys, much to the interest of the student-filled hallway.

She gave several futile struggles that only succeeded in causing him to wrap a hand around her upper thigh and hold her tighter. She swallowed and wondered if he realized how close his hand was to her, she paused. He was laughing. She scowled and tried to push herself up. It was difficult finding a place to brace her hands as he walked down the corridor.

"Careful Rogue, I may just have to return the favor," as he spoke his hand slid up the necessary inch or so to cup her ass in his hand.

Tensing in astonishment she looked down to her own hands which were braced against his wonderfully tight, denim clad… his hand squeezed her ass and she removed her hands with a muffled squeak.

Muffled because she didn't think to brace herself as momentum carried her face into the small of his back. She felt the rumble against her stomach as he laughed at her. Embarrassed, she used one hand to cover her face and try to block out the shocked and amused look on the students faces as they traveled down the hall. She used the other to smack him in the back of the head. Again.

She didn't remove her hand until she felt him open and shut the door to the teachers' lounge. He was so dead once he set her down she promised herself.

"Logan," the Professor's voice greeted them once they entered the room. "Good, you have made it, and ah, I see you brought Rogue as well."

She gritted her teeth as she caught a suspicious pause in which he must have tried not to laugh at the ridiculous image of her hanging over his shoulder like a sack of flour. She poked Logan in the back pointedly.

"Had a bit of a problem with obedience, but yeah," she felt the rumble from his chest as he spoke.

"Obedience problem?" she asked outraged as she struggled against his hold.

"Logan why don't you set the poor girl down and let us start this meeting," suggested Jean, reasonable as always.

Rogue felt the rumble of his assent and the sway of motion as he walked towards what appeared to be the only chair left unoccupied. She braced herself for the disorienting motion as he swung her off his broad shoulder.

She let out a gasp of outrage as he sat her not on the chair, but the ground beside it. Before she had a chance to scramble to her feet, he lowered himself into the last chair. Rogue got to her feet and glared at him. He was smiling back at her, completely unrepentant. Before she could even try to stop herself, she kicked his boot-covered foot irritably.

"Here, you can have my seat Rogue," the sound of Bobby's voice made her head snap around.

Sometimes when she was sparing with Logan she forgot about other people. She flushed as she realized that while she may have momentarily forgotten about them, they had been fully aware of the two of them. She gave one last irritated look at the man in question and smiled at Bobby.

"Thanks, I appreciate the offer, he is about to drive me cra-ZY!" the last of her sentence ended on a wail as she felt a hand wrap itself around her wrist and tug her backwards.

Much to her surprise, she noticed she was sprawled on top of the Wolverine. Her back pressed firmly into his chest and her legs fell to either side of his thighs. A chill chased down her spine as she felt a gentle puff of air hit the edge of her ear. She found herself unreasonably grateful that her lessons in control had been largely successful.

"That's alright Ice-cube, she can share with me." Rogue felt him wrap an arm around her waist to tug her sung up against him and then felt the feather light glide of his thumb as it slid in small circles against her side.

She had just inhaled a shaky breath to object when he heard it. The low rumbling growl so soft she suspected she was the only one to hear it.

"Later Marie, later," he breathed the words across her ear and she subsided and looked to the Professor.

&&&&

Well, tell me what you think! Worth continuing?


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